My sweet nightmare
by Ai Moltres
Summary: Mikan has a childhood best friend, that she had a bet with. To live with her childhood best friend's cousin and the cousin's  friends. But one thing she didn't know; she's going to live with males. Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.
1. Chapter 1

_**I've rewritten it and made some changes, so if you'd like; re-read it and re-review what you think!:D **_

"Ne, Mi-chi?"  
>"Hm?"<br>"Want to make a bet?"  
>"Sure"<p>

I remember that day as the day I made the stupidest bet ever. My name is Mikan Yukihara Sakura. I was 16 years old when that bet was made. I used to live in Kyoto. My hair was brown, long and wavy and my eyes hazel brown. I loved cute things, but at that time, I didn't love my childhood best friend as much. He was the reason I was forced to live in that huge mansion.

A few months later after the bet were made; I sat in this living room, in a couch across from five guys I had just met a few minutes ago. I introduced myself nervously.  
>"Sorry for being rude, Sakura-san, but we were expecting you to be a boy." One of the boys told me. I could hear in his voice that he was uncertain, maybe worried if I would be offended."It's fine." I assured them. "I was expecting you to be girls."<br>"Yoichi was planning this from the beginning, wasn't he?" Another one suddenly asked. He saw me looking at him, and returned the gaze with a smile. "My name is Tsubasa Ando. It's nice to meet you." I nodded once with a smile. He was wearing a school uniform. He had blue hair, but hid it with a hat. A blue star tattoo under his left eye caught my attention before looking at his uniform. It was a black jacket and a white undershirt. The blue ribbon around his neck was untied. The jacket had blue lines at the sleeves and going down horizontally at the sides of the opening. The uniform jacket also has blue pants and brown shoes.  
>"I'm Kokoro Yome, but just call me Koko". This guy grinned at me. He had blond spiky hair and he had been grinning ever since I came in. Well, after he recovered from his shock when he saw me. He had normal clothes on.<br>"My name is Tobita Yuu." He smiled at me. He was also wearing the uniform, but it was a bit different. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with tied red bow, black boots and red plaid pants. He used glasses. He looked so formal, I got the feeling he was like a class president or something like that.  
>The next guy introduced himself as Kitsu. I giggled when he winked at me. I looked exactly like Koko, but his hair was a bit darker. I wondered if they were related. He was wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts which went to his knees.<br>"And I'm Nogi Ruka." He was very charming, like a prince in fact. He had blonde hair that parts in the middle and his eyes were shining a very blue colour. He was smiling at me and seemed very calm about the whole situation. I smiled nervously. He was wearing a blue shirt and black breeches.  
>I stood up and bowed. "It's very nice to meet all of you."<br>We sat in the living room and got to know each other more. They all went to my new school. They wouldn't let me call them by their last names, so I called them by their first names or nicknames. Tsubasa was the oldest, so I called him Tsubasa-sempai. He was two years older than me, while the rest was a year older. Some of them would be in my classes, since the school divided two and two years together by subjects. Later that night, I felt tired and they bid me goodnight. Ruka showed me to my room and told me where the bathroom and kitchen was before wishing me sweet dreams.  
>"Oh, and my room is just across yours, so feel free to come and ask me if you need anything."<br>"Thank you, Ruka."  
>I went into my room and found my toiletry and walked towards the bathroom. I stopped when I saw a door and stared at it for a little while. I didn't recognize the name on the door.<br>"That's our friend." I looked at Tsubasa who was coming down the hallway as well. "You'll meet him tomorrow. He's working right now." I just nodded. He stopped beside me.  
>"I don't know if Ruka told you, but there's no lock on our bathroom door. I'm going to buy one tomorrow."<br>"Thanks." I smiled.  
>"Well, good night, Mikan-chan." He started walking down the hallway again. I stood there until he had turned the corner and then went to the bathroom. It smelled like dude. No surprise. I placed the busy-sign outside the door and took a quick shower before putting on a green singlet and black shorts. I don't like night gowns. I went to my room again and into bed. It was really soft and comfortable, so I soon dozed off.<p>

And that... was the beginning of my sweet nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

Just kill me already. He hates me! Come on, what did I do to offend this guy?  
>I was sitting by the breakfast table, eating my breakfast with an unknown guy. He didn't talk to me, so I didn't know if I should talk to him. He seemed busy. I guessed that he was the guy Tsubasa told me about the night before; their friend that was working last night. I had to admit, he was handsome. He had short raven black hair and his crimson red eyes were really beautiful. His right ear had a gold plate with dragon carvings. Just by looking at him, I knew he worked out. He was wearing a shirt that hugged his muscles and dark brown jeans. When he entered the room and saw me there, he just stared at me for a long time. I stared back. After that he just looked away and went to the refrigerator. I guess he was just tired. I smiled relived when Tsubasa-sempai entered the room.<br>"Good morning, Tsubasa-sempai!" I grinned.  
>"Good morning, Mikan-chan. I see you have met Natsume."<br>I was right.  
>"So you're Natsume? It's nice to meet you." I smiled at him.<br>"Hn."  
>I looked over at Tsubasa-sempai, confused.<br>"Don't expect more than that."  
>I looked down at my food and continued to eat.<br>"Mikan-chan, do you drive?" Tsubasa-sempai asked as he sat down with a cup of coffee.  
>"I'm still learning" I told him.<br>"Will you let me teach you?" He grinned.  
>"Do you want to die?"<br>I was really surprised when Natsume suddenly spoke.  
>"W-what?"<br>"It's the same question. It's not safe to learn how to drive from an idiot."  
>"What is the matter with you?" I glared at him and stop up. "What gives you the right to insult others like that? What exactly did he do to you? You're arrogant. I've known you for less than 30 minutes and I already know that you are that type that I despite." I walked out of the room and ran up to my room. I saw a uniform on my bed. Who put it there? It was the same as Yuu's uniform, except I had a skirt instead of pants. Ruka offered me a ride to school.<br>"Ne, Ruka? Why do you all have a car each? Can't you guys share?" I asked when we sat in the car.  
>"Why do you ask?" He looked confused.<br>"Just wondering."  
>"Well, it's easier if something happens. Our schedules aren't always the same. Sometimes classes are moved or cancelled."<br>"Hmmm..." I nodded.  
>"Sakura-san?"<br>"Call me Mikan."  
>"Mikan-chan?"<br>I giggled and asked him what he wanted to say.  
>"Why did you yell at Natsume this morning?"<br>I was surprised by his question, and it took me a few seconds to be able to answer. "He got on my nerves. He was arrogant and insulted Tsubasa-sempai like he's better than him.  
>"He's really popular with the students at school, especially the girls. In fact, except his family, you're the first girl I know of that has talked back to him that way."<br>"How can they like an arrogant jerk?" I blurted out. Ruka laughed and stopped the car. I stared at the school. It was huge! Ruka walked me to the principal's office, where I got my schedule and other information that I needed. My first class was together with Ruka. I sat beside him. In front of us were Koko, Kitsu and Natsume. He glared at me and I glared at him back. I sat down and leaned on the wall as a teacher came in. He stared at me.  
>"New student?" he asked.<br>I stood up.  
>"I'm Mikan Yukihara Sakura." I smiled.<br>"Welcome to Alice Academy, I'm Misaki-sensei."  
>I was bored during that class. I looked around. I noticed that Ruka was looking at a girl. She was really pretty, with short black hair and purple eyes. She looked really mature and was working on something I didn't know what was. I tapped his shoulder and smirked when he looked at me. He just looked down to hide his blush. I giggled quietly and looked over at the girl again. Around her were two other girls. One of them had short green hair with several distinctive curly, long strands at the front. Her bangs are cut straight across, reaching the tip of her eyebrows. Her eyes were green. She was sitting and painting her nails. The third girl was really cute. She had long blue hair and blue eyes. My thoughts were interrupted.<br>"Mikan?" I looked up.  
>"Yes?"<br>"Class is over. Want to join us for lunch?"  
>I smiled at the boys standing in front of me and nodded. We walked to the cafeteria and walked outside to sit at a bench. I soon saw the girls form my class and I smirked. The guys read my mind, but before they could say anything to protest, I got up and ran over to the girls.<br>"Hi. I'm Mikan."  
>"It's nice to meet you, Mikan. My name is Anna, and this is Hotaru and Sumire."<br>"It's nice to meet you, too. Do you want to eat with me and my friends?"  
>"We'd love to." I smiled and we walked over to the guys. Tsubasa and Natsume had arrived.<br>"Guys, this is Anna, Hotaru and Sumire." I smiled, with a hint of teasing, at Ruka. To everyone's surprise, he got up and dragged me away. They can still see us, but we're too far away for anyone to hear us.  
>"What's wrong, Ruka?"<br>"Why did you invite them?"  
>"Because I know you like Hotaru and I want to meet some girls here."<br>"I can understand that you want friends but it's just awkward for me." He looked down and blushed.  
>"Why will it be awkward? It's your chance to talk to her and to get to know her better."<br>"What's your plan?" Suddenly, Natsume stood beside us, and he was glaring at me again. I gulped a bit. Somehow, his glare was scarier.  
>"What"? I asked.<br>"What's your plan, bringing annoying girls to our table?"  
>"Why do you care?"<br>"Because I find girls annoying."  
>"Come on, Natsume, not every single girl is annoying." Ruka interrupted.<br>"You say that because you got a crush. I don't even understand how you like someone like her. She's cold and she never shows any emotions. She-"  
>"And you do?" I snapped at him. He returned his glare at me.<br>"Do you have a problem with me?" He asked.  
>"Clearly, you got one with me."<br>"Should I like you? You suddenly pop out of nowhere and move into my home. You're annoying and you're loud. You have no reason, but you feel free to shout and yell at me as if I wronged you in some way."  
>"Well, for your information; I didn't "pop" out of nowhere, I was told to live with you and I wouldn't have if I knew you were boys. I'm sorry for being annoying and loud but you're nothing but an arrogant jerk who thinks he's better than anyone else. I'm not yelling or shouting at you, I'm just telling you what I think. I got the freedom to do that."<br>"Why are you here in the first place? Your parents were so sick of you they sent you away?"  
>That stung. I could feel tears forming in my eyes and they were soon on their way down my cheeks. I was mad and I was upset. How dare he talk to me like that? I didn't manage to say anything, but I think the slap I gave him was hard enough to make him feel it.<br>"You don't know anything!" I yelled before running away from them. I ran passed the others. I heard Ruka calling after me, but I didn't bother to stop. I kept running. I stopped when I was far away from the others. I didn't want to stop, but I was out of breath. I sat down next to a tree and leaned on it, hugging my knees. I cried and cried, thinking back at what he said.  
>Your parents were so sick of you they sent you away?<br>They didn't send me away. They left me. They didn't want me so they left me. That's it.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Remember to review! :D


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up in my room, confused. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is that I was at the place after I ran away from the others.  
>Your parents were so sick of you they sent you away?<br>Those words kept on replaying in my head.  
>"Mikan-chan! You're awake!" I looked around and found Anna. I smiled.<br>"Oh, you're finally awake!" Ruka said, entering the room with a trey of food. "We were really worried about you, Mikan-chan!" He said.  
>"I'm sorry... How did I get here?"<br>"Natsume found you unconscious somewhere." Tsubasa told me. It wasn't he spoke that I realized he had been in the room the whole time.  
>"Mikan-chan, are you okay? Are you feeling ill?"<br>"Just a small headache."  
>"You should eat." Ruka said as he put the tray in front of me. It looked delicious.<br>"Who made this?" I asked.  
>"Yuu came in laughing with Koko and Kitsu. "That arrogant jerk, as you call him, is the only one who can cook in this house." Koko explained.<br>I looked down at the food. I really had to thank Natsume this time. I smiled weak.  
>"Mikan, you look read. Are you sick?" Anna placed her hand on my forehead. "Oh my! Mikan, you have a fever!" Her voice was filled with worry. I smiled at her, realizing how much she actually cared for me, even if we just met.<br>"Tch. Of course. She was outside in the cold." Natsume was leaning against the doorframe. He threw something at me. I didn't manage to catch it. Instead, it hit my head. I was about to give him a glare, but I realized it was medicine.  
>"Thanks." I mumbled and took some of it out of the pack.<br>"We'll let you rest, Mikan. We'll be downstairs, so call us if you need anything." Tsubasa-sempai told me.  
>"Thank you. All of you." They all left and I started eating. A few bits into the meal, I felt like I wanted to puke. I shouldn't have thought that. I ran to the bathroom and hung over the toilet. I forgot to close the door, because I saw someone standing there. I felt the person stand beside me, pulling my hair back. I threw up a few times more before standing up to brush my teeth. I was surprised to find Natsume right beside me.<br>"Are you okay?" He asked me and I shook my head. That was a mistake.  
>"I'm dizzy." I walked over to the sink and started to brush my teeth. "Thanks for holding my hair back."<br>"You should sleep."  
>"I've slept all day." I pouted.<br>"Hn."  
>I giggled and he looked at me like I was crazy. I finished brushing my teeth and tied my hair up in a messy bun. We walked out of the room and down the stairs. We saw the others watching a movie. They didn't notice us, so I walked into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator. I poured myself a cup of iced tea. I turned around and offered Natsume a cup. He refused as he sat down at the kitchen table.<br>I walked over and sat across him.  
>"Thanks... saving me." I mumbled. He didn't respond, so I continued. "And I'm sorry."<br>"For what?"  
>"Yelling at you and hitting you."<br>"Why did you?"  
>"It's just that... you know nothing about me and what you said really hurt me."<br>"Sorry." He said.  
>I stared at him shocked before smiling huge. "And I'm also sorry. I guess it's the same with me. I don't really know anything about you, yet I labelled you. I'm sorry for that."<br>"Hn." He got up and left. I sat there grinning like a fool.  
>"Mikan-chan! What are you doing up? Go to bed and rest now, you're sick!"<br>"Yes, yes! As you wish, Anna-sama!" We giggled and I went upstairs to my room.


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?"  
>"I'm doing what you told me to!"<br>"No, you're not! I said to take it forwards then one to the right and then forwards again!"  
>"I did that!"<br>"No, you didn't!"  
>"This is hopeless!"<br>"You're hopeless"  
>"Really mature."<p>

It's Sunday afternoon. I've been living with the boys for 6 weeks now. Everyone was against Tsubasa-sempai teaching me how to drive. They convinced Natsume to teach me and they convinced me to let Natsume teach me. It wasn't going well. I stopped suddenly and got out of the car, leaving a pissed Natsume in the passenger's seat. I didn't care that it was an hour and a half to walk home. I heard a car horn beeping. I just walked faster. I jumped when he suddenly drove and took a sudden stop right in front of me.  
>"Get. In. Now." He glared at me. I shook my head and walked past him. I screamed when I was picked up and thrown over his shoulder before he started to walk. I started hitting his back and shouting at him to put me down. And he did. Just to push me inside the car and lock the door. He got in and drove off. I crossed my arms and looked inside the window. We didn't say a word to each other. I sighed. How did it end up being like this? Will we ever stop fighting? I looked at the gearshift. His hand was resting on it before he switched. He made it seem so easy. Just like all he is doing is to move the wheel when a turn came. I sighed again and noticed that we weren't driving home.<br>"Where are we going?"  
>He didn't respond, but we arrived at an empty parking lot a few minutes later. He stopped the car and got out. He waved his hand at me, telling me to switch seats with him. I was nervous when I was behind the wheel once again. He sat beside me and ran a hand through as he sighed.<br>"Listen closely. First, hold the clutch in. Second, take the gearshift all the way back. That's first gear."  
>I did as he said.<br>"Step carefully on the gas."  
>The car slowly moved forwards. I grinned happily. Who cared if I was going in a few miles per hour?<br>"Go a little faster." He told me. Okay, so he cared. I gave the gas more pressure and the car moved faster.  
>"Stop."<br>I stepped on the break a little too hard. "Sorry!" I looked at him. He was rubbing his forehead. He got out of the car and opened the back. I saw him taking some cones out and put them around in the parking lot before getting into the car again. He pointed out a routine and told me to drive. I hit three of them, feeling glares coming my way each time. He got out and told me to turn the car around while he would put the cones out again. We practiced for hours and he was really patient with me. I have a feeling he's trying hard not to yell at me. I've made so many mistakes. I was really thankful.

Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko, Sumire and I were at a cafe. I had just met Nonoko; Anna's sister. Yuu, Kitsu, Ruka and Nonoko joined us. We ordered something to drink and sat there for hours, just talking.  
>"Mikan, we'll have a guest sleeping over tonight. That's okay with you, right?" Ruka asked. All of the guys looked at me, waiting for an answer.<br>"Of course it's okay. I'll stay away so you can have a boys night or something." The boys started laughing.  
>"The guest is actually Aoi-chan, Natsume's sister." Yuu explained.<br>I was really surprised. We heard a bell ring as the door opened and I saw Natsume, standing there with a girl on his arm. She had short raven black hair and crimson red eyes, just like Natsume.  
>"Ah! Ruka-nii!" She excitedly ran over to Ruka and hugged him tight. Ruka made gestures about not being able to breathe. She pulled back and apologized with a giggled. Ruka gave her a quick hug. Natsume was not coming over with a cola in his hand.<br>"Aoi, you should stop being so all over the place. You've been running from place to place all day."  
>Aoi giggled. "So, which one is the one you told me about?" She looked at her brother with curious eyes.<br>"I haven't talked about anyone." He looked away and I was so surprised when I thought I saw him blushing.  
>"Yes, you did. You talked about a Mikan."<br>I choked on my drink and everyone looked at me. Koko patted my back. "Are you okay, Mikan-chan?" He asked.  
>"Oh my gosh! You're Mikan-san?" Aoi stared at me with a grin on her face. I nodded. "It is so nice to finally meet you! I'm Hyuuga Aoi, Natsume-nii's younger sister." Aoi was so excited she was almost jumping up and down and it made me giggle.<br>"It's nice to meet you, too." I smiled.  
>She suddenly turned to her brother and tip-toed to whisper something in his ear. When she stood normally again, he gave her a mild version of his usual glare.<br>"You what?" He asked.  
>"Please?" She pretended to be whiny and Natsume just sighed.<br>"I'm out of here." He placed some money on the table for his drink before walking out of the cafe.  
>"Ne, Mikan-san?" Aoi looked at me with big, hopeful eyes.<br>"Yes?"  
>"Will you give me some company while I go shopping?"<br>I was surprised. "S-sure. I'd love to." I smiled at her and got up, placed some money on the table and looked my friends. "I'll see you later." I smiled and walked outside with Aoi.  
>"Ne, can I call you Mikan-nee?"<br>I gave her a smile.  
>"Then, can I call you Aoi-chan?"<br>She nodded excitedly and I giggled. We went shopping for a few hours. When we walked through the front door, we found five guys sitting in the living room.  
>"Hey guys!" I greeted them.<br>They all greeted us and they came over to us.  
>Yuu, Kitsu, Koko and Aoi introduced themselves to each other.<br>"You're really cute, you know that?" Koko told Aoi. I giggled as I saw Natsume standing behind Koko on is way out, giving him a murderous glare. Koko gulped and slowly turned around.  
>"Natsume, I didn't mean it like that. You know I already..." Then he ran out of the room. We all, except Natsume, laughed.<br>"Come one, Natsume-nii! He was only giving me a compliment! That's it." I smiled for myself when I saw Aoi whining to Natsume again in order to get him to give in and lighten up. Then I looked at Ruka, standing beside me.  
>"Ruka... What did Koko mean by 'you know I already...'? " I asked.<br>"Hmm... I'm not sure. Maybe he got someone he likes." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me.  
>I took this as an opportunity to tease him. "Just like the way you feel about Hotaru." I whispered. I laughed as he tried to hide his blush. I yawned all of a sudden.<br>"I guess I'm tired. I'm gonna take a shower and then go to bed. Good night, Ruka." I smiled at him and headed up the stairs. I heard him tell me good night.

I stepped out of the shower and was about to grab my towel. It took me a few seconds to really understand what happened. I stood there, naked and reaching out for a towel, with wide eyes staring at the figure in front of me. I screamed. LOUD.


	5. Chapter 5

I screamed for a long time. I grabbed the towel, wrapped it around me. I turned to the figure in front of me and punched him right in the face before I pushed him out of the room. I banged the door shut and sat down on the floor, leaning on the door. I heard footsteps coming running towards this way.  
>"Mikan! Are you okay?" I heard Yuu ask from the other side of the door. I didn't answer.<br>"Natsume-nii! What did you do to Mikan-nee?" Aoi's voice was louder and angry.  
>"I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed.<br>I got up from the floor, I put on my usual black shorts and green singlet. I tied my hair up in a messy bun and took on my slippers. Then I opened the door. The others looked at me speechless. I could feel my face burn and the anger was building up inside me. I took a step forwards, my chest almost touching his.  
>"What the hell is the matter with you?" I yelled at Natsume.<br>"The matter with me?" He was mad too. We were glaring at each other. "What's the matter with you? Why the hell did you punch me?"  
>"You walked in on me!"<br>"You didn't put the sign up!"  
>"I did!"<br>"No, you didn't!"  
>"Yes, I did!"<br>"Umm... Mikan-chan? Natsume?" Ruka interrupted. We looked at him and saw him holding the busy sign. "This probably fell onto the floor. I found it in front of the bathroom."  
>"What?" Natsume and I shouted at the same time. I felt my eyes watering and soon the tears were running down my cheeks. I couldn't stop it. I looked at Natsume. He looked shocked and he stared at me.<br>"You idiot!" I said, almost in a whisper. My voice had disappeared. I ran to my room and placed a chair to the door so no one could enter. I ran to my bed and hid my face in the pillow. I started to cry. My tears wouldn't stop running. After 30 minutes, I heard a knock on the door.  
>"Mikan-nee? Are you okay?" I heard worry in Aoi's voice. I sat up and wiped my tears away. I walked over and removed the chair. When I opened the door, I saw Tsubasa, Ruka, Yuu, Koko and Kitsu a few meters away from my door. Aoi was standing right in front of my door. I smiled weak. I knew my eyes were swollen from crying.<br>"I'm fine."  
>"What a girls night?" Aoi smiled at me and I hugged her.<br>"Thank you... for caring so much. I'd love a girl's night." We giggled.  
>"I'll go and rent some movies."<br>I grinned. "I'll order food."  
>She nodded and walked down the stairs. I waited a few seconds before I went over to the guys. I could see they were very uncertain; maybe because they didn't want to upset me.<br>"Thanks guys." They smiled and seemed calmer.  
>"You okay, Mikan-chan?" Tsubasa-sempai asked. I nodded.<br>"Do we have popcorn?" I asked, and they laughed. I followed them to the kitchen where they showed me every cabinet or shelf where unhealthy snacks could be found.  
>"We'll disappear so you two can have the house for yourself." Ruka suddenly said as we watched the popcorn in the microwave.<br>"What?" I looked at the boys surprised. "No, I can't kick you out! We'll be in my room." They only laughed at me when I protested.  
>"It's fine. We'll go out." Yuu smiled at me and I gave them a sweet smile in return.<br>"Thanks."  
>Natsume entered the room and I turned my back towards him. He just looked at the boys.<br>"What's going on?" He asked.

After one hour, Aoi and I were in the living room. We decided to invite the other girls as well. They would be arriving soon. I was surprised at all the unhealthy stuff we managed to find; popcorn, potato chips, chocolate, lots of candy, soda and we ordered three pizzas. We sat there talking for hours about anything; books, movies, stuff we have done, embarrassing stuff, secrets and so on. After that, we watched a horror movie. I hated the two painful hours. I was very relieved when it was over. But I was only happy for a minute or two. They started talking about something I don't have a lot of experience in.  
>"Ne, Mikan-chan?" Sumire got my attention. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at her.<br>"Hmm?"  
>"How may boys have you kissed."<br>I blushed. All the girls looked at me, curious.  
>"One."<br>"Was it nice?"  
>I looked down to hide my growing blush. They all had curious eyes. I saw Sumire smirking at me.<br>"Let's play truth or dare."  
>I hated that game.<p>

I rushed over to them and stood in front of him. I really didn't want to do it, but I had to. I sighed.  
>"Can I talk to you?" I said, nervously. All six boys were looking at me, confused. I blushed like crazy and looked down. "Well?"<br>Natsume stood up and walked out of the restaurant. I followed him. I was really nervous. I hated this dare.  
>"Well... you see..." I blushed and couldn't look him in the eyes.<br>"Just blurt it out." He said.  
>"I'm still a tiny bit mad about you from before, even if I know it wasn't your fault, you still saw all, and it is really embarrassing for me having you see that and I wish you could just forget it all and let's be friends again. By the way, kiss me."<br>I said it all out in one go, so I needed to take a deep breath when I finished. I looked up at him to find a huge smirk on his face. I wanted to wipe it off.  
>"Got a crush on me little girl?"<br>"I'm not a little girl. It is a dare."  
>"Oh, right. Of course, you say so because you don't want to admit you want it." I heard the amusement in his voice.<br>"All I had to do was ask you, you don't have to do anything. Bye." I turned around and started to walk away. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. My back was still facing him.  
>"Why did they tell you to ask me?"<br>I blushed.  
>"No reason."<br>"Tell me."  
>"No."<br>"I won't let go before you tell me."  
>"My first kiss was lousy, okay? Now let me go."<br>He walked around me, still holding my wrist. He placed his hand under my chin and made me look right into his eyes. We stared at each other's eyes for a long time.  
>"We can't have that." He whispered. I felt my cheeks burn and I had trouble breathing. I couldn't hear anything. I was lost in his eyes. Why the hell did he make me feel this way? I was shocked when I felt something soft touch my lips. Without my permission, my eyes closed slowly.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

I walked through the front door and into the living room where I saw all the girls grinning at me. I kept quiet. I was still shocked about what happened earlier.  
>"Did you do it?" Sumire broke the silence.<br>I just nodded and the girls, except Hotaru, squealed. I was still blushing. I walked over to the coach and landed between Anna and Hotaru. Aoi, Nonoko and Sumire came over and sat on the floor in front of us.  
>"Tell us what happened." Aoi giggled.<br>I described the kiss in every little detailed, while blushing like crazy. I had described where he kept his hands, how he had pushed me towards him, the staring contest before, his lips, his warmth... even his... tongue. They all just laughed at me for taking the dare too seriously. I placed a few fingers on top of my lips, still red like a tomato.  
>"But it's funny..." Aoi mumbled. I looked at her.<br>"What is?"  
>"Well, onii-chan said that he rejected all those girls that followed him because he didn't like them. He said that he'd never kiss if he didn't feel anything for her." My eyes got wide as when she said that. The other girls just cheered and laughed even more. I stared at Aoi.<br>"Natsume hates me!"  
>"Apparently not, idiot!" Hotaru said. Sumire took my hand and made me give her a high five. I just sat there, speechless. The scene wouldn't exit my mind.<p>

Later that night, I was alone in the living room. The other girls were sleeping in my room, but I just couldn't fall asleep. It was 4AM when I heard the front door open. I saw six guys entering the door and they stopped when they saw me.  
>"Mikan-chan, why are you still up?" Ruka asked me. I gave them a weak smile and just shook my head.<br>"Can't sleep." I told them.  
>Koko and Kitsu walked over to me and sat on each side, Koko on my left and Kitsu on my right.<br>"Did you miss us too much?" Koko asked mockingly. I laughed.  
>"Of course! You expect me to survive without you?" I played along.<br>"Aw, Mikan-sama! We'll never leave you again!" Kitsu said dramatically, holding hands over his heart.  
>Koko and Kitsu got up and stood in front of me before kneeling down onto one knee. Koko took my left hand and Kitsu took my right. They kissed my hands as if I was a lady. All of us started to laugh. Yuu, Tsubasa and Ruka laughed as well, having witnessed it all. Tsubasa walked over to us and picked up one of the movies. I smiled when it wasn't the horror movie.<br>"Shall we watch this?" he suggested. I smiled at him. These guys really know how to make me feel better. To my surprise, Natsume joined in as well. We started to watch one of the comedies. Koko and Kitsu sat on the floor in front of us. Tsubasa sat in one of the bean bags and Yuu sat in the other one. Ruka sat down to my left and Natsume sat down on my right. That made me a little nervous, since the scene of our last meeting was still replaying in my mind. I didn't look at him. Koko had the popcorn bowl in his lap, eating a lot. I giggled at him. All of a sudden, my stomach growled and I blushed in embarrassment. Five boys laughed at me, while the last one stopped me from getting up and went to the kitchen. Ruka winked at me and told me to wait a little. 20 minutes later, the guy came back. I grinned when I saw the plate of pancakes he was carrying. He sat down again and gave me the plate.  
>"Thank you!" I grinned and started eating.<p>

A few weeks later, I woke up really early on a Sunday. I went downstairs and found Natsume in the kitchen. He seemed to be making breakfast. We had another fight about something stupid last night before I went to bed.  
>"Need any help?" I asked. Natsume turned around.<br>"Hn." He turned around again. I walked over to him and saw him frying some French toast.  
>"That smells really good." I said.<br>He looked at me, but didn't say anything. I sighed.  
>"Are you still mad at me for last night?"<br>He still didn't respond.  
>"Listen, I'm sorry! I just answered so you wouldn't miss the call. Was it so horrible? I tried to do something nice."<br>"I'm not mad at you."  
>"Then what is it?"<br>"The caller... heard a girl's voice and will now be coming here."  
>"Oh... And I guess you don't want that person to visit. I'm really sorry. If you want, I could find a place to stay for a few days so I won't be here when that person is. Then I can't make it worse, right?"<br>"Fried or scrambled eggs?" He asked out of the blue.  
>I was surprised when he suddenly asked that. "Umm... Both?"<br>He nodded and went to the refrigerator and got milk, eggs and bacon. I got out the plates and started setting the table with everything I thought would be used. After 15 minutes, the eggs and bacon were done and we ate in silence.  
>"Drive today?"<br>I looked up surprised. Natsume was hiding his face behind the news paper. I smiled.  
>"Yeah. Thanks."<p>

Later that day, after fighting with Natsume about my driving and then making up again a few hours later, the boys, Aoi and I went out to eat at an Italian restaurant for dinner.

"Natsume?" we heard a voice behind us.  
>Natsume, Yuu and I turned around, since we were the ones not facing where the voice came from.<br>"It really is you!" I stared at the beautiful person that all of a sudden ran over and hugged Natsume tightly.  
>"Get away from me." Natsume tried to get the person to let go but he wasn't able to. I gulped when I received a murderous glare from the person.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Days later, I sat in the kitchen, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. It was already 11PM. Tsubasa walked in together with Yuu and Ruka. I could tell that they were surprised to find me there. Ruka and Yuu sat down across from me and smiled. I returned the smile and looked over at Tsubasa pouring hot chocolate for them. I made way too much for myself. He gave Yuu and Ruka a cup each and took one himself before sitting down next to me.

"What's bothering you, Mikan-chan?" Tsubasa asked me after a few minutes in silence. I looked at them and all of them were looking at me, waiting for an answer. I could see worry in their eyes and smiled a weak smile.

"It's nothing." I said, looking down at my cup. My grip around the cup tightened a little.

"It's obviously something, since you say that _it's _nothing". Yuu said and they chuckled. I giggled before giving in.

"Well, it's nothing _important_". I told them with a smile.

"Come on, tell us..." Ruka said. I looked at him and we stared at each other for a tiny while. I sighed and looked down.

"Who..." I started. "Who is that person from the restaurant a few days ago?" I blushed and hid my face. I could hear them chuckle.

"Oh... That was Hiroto-kun." Yuu said. "A childhood friend of the Hyuuga's"

I looked up and stared at them. They laughed at my surprised face.

"Ne, Mikan? Do you like Natsume?" Ruka asked.

"What?"

How can they think I like him? I don't.

"Okay, he's handsome and he has many talents like always getting good grades, cooking and probably even more than that, but I don't like him." I looked away.

"But he kissed you."

Ruka and Yuu turned around since their backs were facing the door. We saw Aoi standing in the doorway.

"He did?" The boys almost shouted and looked at me shocked. I blushed like crazy and nodded slowly.

"It was a dare!" I quickly explained.

We heard the front door open and we sat in silence as Natsume entered the kitchen.

"Hey." He said.

The others greeted him, but I just sat there staring at him. He got a bottle of water from the refrigerator and walked over to us. He didn't sit down, just stood there. He looked at me.

"What?" He asked.

I looked away, blushing. I shook my head.

"Nothing." I mumbled. From the corner of my eye, I saw him shrug his shoulders and take a sip from the bottle. The guys were staring at him with wide eyes.

"_What?!_" he snapped.

They got up and dragged him upstairs, him protesting and asking questions without response. I heard a door slam shut. Aoi sat down across me and stared at me. I felt a bit nervous, knowing she would demand answers to the questions I knew she had.

"Well, do you?" she asked firmly.

"What?"

"Do you like my brother?"

"Well..." I paused. "Not in a romantic way."

"How did you react when you saw Hiroto hanging on him?"

I stared at her. "Aoi, I'm not crushing on your brother!"

"You didn't answer."

I sighed. "I was surprised, that's all. I that Hiroto-san was a girl."

"Jealous?"

"No."

"No romantic feelings at all?"

"None."

Aoi sighed and looked disappointed. I giggled.

"Why do you want me to have them?"

"Because! My brother changed when you came. He talks more and he seems more comfortable around you than any girl I've ever seen him with. He used to be arrogant and cold to people he didn't know. You're the complete opposite of him and I want you two together!"

I laughed really hard at that. I didn't stop laughing for minutes.

"Aoi, you're so cute!" I yawned. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't feel anything romantic towards Natsume. He's a nice guy, but not my guy, you know? I'm going to bed. Good night."

I heard Aoi mumble a sour "night" back.

I woke up and looked at my alarm clock. It read 5:34AM. I got up. I knew myself, I would only oversleep if I went back to sleep. I walked to the bathroom and put the 'busy' sign up and made sure it wouldn't fall off. I took a shower and got dressed. I applied light make up, but not much. Just some mascara, a weak coloured eye shadow and some lip gloss. I walked downstairs, thinking I would make breakfast for everyone. It was already 6AM when I entered the kitchen, and I was greeted by a lovely scent. I looked around and saw someone cooking. To my surprise, it wasn't Natsume. The person turned around and glared at me. I smiled nervously.

"H-hey..." I stuttered.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I frowned. He really didn't like me. "Sakura Yukihara Mikan. I live here."

"You live alone with six guys?" Hiroto-san raised an eyebrow.

I nodded nervously.

"Stay away from my Natsume."

"_your_?"

"Yes. So stay away from him."

I was surprised when someone put their arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a one-arm hug. I looked up. Speaking of the devil...

"Hiroto. Stop it. Don't order her around." Natsume said. I looked at the floor, blushing. I glanced up nervously.

"But... Natsume!" He pouted.

"No buts. What are you even doing here? How did you get in?"

"I wanted to make you breakfast..."

"I don't need you to make me breakfast." Natsume spoke calmly. He let go of me and walked over to the refrigerator.

Hiroto-san looked down at the floor, his face red. He looked up and glared at me. I could see the tears in his eyes. It took me a few seconds to realize what happened next. I heard a loud crash and saw a broken plate and some pancakes at the floor. Hiroto had pushed me to the wall with his hands holding around my neck. I had trouble breathing.

"What did you do to my Natsume?!" Hiroto was shouting. Natsume turned around and got wide eyes. He hurried over to us and pulled Hiroto off me.

"The hell is the matter with you?!" Natsume yelled. I was still leaning at the wall, so I slowly slid down onto the floor, holding my own neck with a weak grip. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. I couldn't hear anything around me. Everything around me was spinning, so I closed my eyes. I got my senses back a tiny while later and opened my eyes to see Natsume in front of me. He held my shoulders, shaking me carefully. He was panicking and I tried to say something. I opened my moth, but nothing came out. He gave me a bottle of water. I took a few sips and looked around us.

"What happened? Where's Hiroto-san?"

"I made him leave. Don't worry, he won't come here again." He told me. I smiled weak as I heard how worried he was by the sound of his tone.

"It's okay. You didn't have to kick him out. He just cares for you."

"Damn it, he straggled you!"

I gave him a weak smile again.

"I'm fine. He loves you. He just cares for you. Is it that hard for you to give him some positive attention?"

"... I can't love him the way he loves me."

That shocked me.

"What? What do you mean?"

"He's gay."

"Natsume, that's mean! He might be a little girly and clingy to you, but that doesn't make him-" I stopped when I saw the seriousness in Natsume's eyes. We stared at each other for a long time. Then it hit me.

"He's gay?!" I almost shouted.

Natsume sighed and nodded. I stared at him with wide eyes.

"No way!"

"It's true." Natsume stood up and walked over to the cabinet under the sink to get the broom. He started to clean up the broken plate and the pancakes on the floor. I slowly got up and walked over.

"Need any help?" I offered.

"Just stay there so you won't cut yourself."

"Oh." I nodded. "Where are the others?"

"They're all heavy sleepers. Banging a spoon to a pan barely helps."

I giggled. "What about Aoi?"

"Worse."

I giggled again and saw a smirk forming on his face. He got up and threw the broken plate and pancakes into the trash can. He started to make breakfast. I set the table while he was finishing.

"They should be getting up soon."

"Do they wake up by themselves around this time? It's already 7AM."

"Ruka does. I need to wake the others."

I stared at him amazed. He is really responsible and mature. I didn't know.

"By the way... Thanks for earlier. About Hiroto-san." I said. .He looked at me and nonned.

"Ne, can I try to wake them up?" I giggled.

"Sure."

We walked up the stairs and I knocked on Yuu door. We got no answer, so we walked in. The room was really dark, since the shades where covering the windows. I went to open them and saw something on the bed flinch when I did. I turned around and saw a ball under the duvet. I went over and used a minute to drag the duvet away from Yuu. He was clenching it so hard I struggled a bit. I gave Natsume a glare when he laughed at me. I went over to Yuu and leaned down.

"Ne...Yuu?"

He growled.

"If you don't get up right now, I'll take a picture of your underwear with cars and send them to Nonoko." I whispered into his ear. I've noticed him staring at her during class. I walked over to Natsume again.

"That's it?" he asked.

"Wait..." I giggled.

"NO, YOU CAN'T!" Yuu jumped out of the bed and ran to his closet, took some of the clothes and ran to the bathroom. I started to laugh hard. I knew Natsume was holding his laughter, but he wasn't able to hide the smirk.

"Impressive."


	8. Chapter 8

I sat in the classroom together with Koko and Kitsu. They were still mad at me for throwing cold water at them this morning. They've been ignoring me all day. Aoi is also mad at me. I told her if she woke up, I would kiss her brother. Tsubasa on the other, he didn't seem too mad at me. I did put a headset on him before playing music on the highest volume. He didn't hear much before school, but his hearing is fine now. During class, I was bored, so I looked outside the window. Something caught my attention and curiosity. Natsume was talking to Hiroto-san. Hiroto-san was looking down at his feet and Natsume just looked mad. The bell rang and I walked out of the classroom. Koko and Kitsu still wouldn't talk to me. I had a free period so I decided to walk around campus a little. After walking for 15 minutes, I unconsciously went to the place I shouldn't go to.

"Come on, Natsume! You know how I feel!" Hiroto-san sounded like he was teary.

"Why did you attack her?" Natsume looked straight at him.

"Because! You were hugging her as you pushed me away!"

"I didn't hug her!"

"Yes, you did... Do you like her?"

"No."

"100% no?"

"I don't like her in a romantic way."

"But you like her."

"She's..." He paused. I felt nervous. "... Interesting."

I blushed for some reason. I thought it was wrong of me to overhear the conversation, so I turned around and started to walk as quietly as I could. I guess it didn't work, because I heard a fake cough and I stopped. I could feel the stare in my neck before slowly turning around. Two pair of eyes right at me; one murderous glare and one emotionless stare.

"What are you doing here?" Natsume didn't look away.

"Hmm.. Just taking a walk around campus. I didn't mean to listen to your conversation..." I looked down.

"That means you did listen..." Hiroto-san continued to glare at me.

"Hiroto, let it go."

"No!"

Natsume just sighed and walked away. It felt really awkward. Hiroto-san was still glaring at me, so it was hard to just walk away. I turned away, but before I could take another step before he interrupted.

"What do you want?" I heard him say.

I turned around, not surprised to find the glare still present on his face.

"I don't want anything."

"Not even Natsume?"

"No, not even him. I'm not after anything or anyone." I started to feel frustrated.

"I heard that he kissed you. Aoi told me."

I growled. Why did Aoi tell _everyone_?

"That was a dare." I told him.

"Nothing more?"

I nodded. "Nothing more."

Hiroto-san looked down at his feet. I was surprised when I saw him smile.

"I need to go now. Bye." I told him before I walked off.

I packed my books and was about to walk out of the classroom. I was stopped in the door. I looked up and saw Natsume.

"Are you done?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Remember the deal?"

I nodded again. I made a deal with Natsume yesterday night before going to bed. He'll continue to teach me how to drive if I do everything he tells me to without protesting. We walked to the parking lot and he drove to an empty parking lot a few blocks away. We switched places and started to practice. We practiced for hours and I must say; I've gotten better.

That night, we took take-out as our dinner. I was glad when the pizza arrived. We sat in the living room in our regular spots, watching television. It wasn't intentional, but we started to sit the way we sat that night when I couldn't sleep at the girls night; Koko and Kitsu on the floor, Tsubasa and Yuu in each their bean bag and on the couch you could find Ruka to the left, me in the middle and Natsume on the right. Aoi had went back home a few hours earlier, even though I asked her to stay a little longer. She wanted to, but school obligated her to return home. I overheard Natsume tell her to greet their parents on his behalf. I wondered when the last time he visited them, but I didn't dare to ask.

The weeks went by and my relationships with five of the guys were really great. The last guy on the other hand... Well, let's just say we have our ups and downs. We fight all the time and our relationship didn't really progress at all. At least he doesn't hate me anymore. Hiroto-san went home yesterday, after sending a text to Natsume with 'to Sakura-san' on the top. He apologized for the incident in the kitchen before threatening me about Natsume once again.

One day, I was at the supermarket together with Natsume. I was supposed to go alone, but apparently I had forgotten my keys, and he came after me. He went to get milk while I was looking at the fruits. I wanted a lot of fruits, but I knew I couldn't possibly eat it all myself.

Natsume came back and looked at me, curious. He picked up apples. "Ruka." He picked up the oranges. "Tsubasa." He picked up the cherries. "Yuu." He picked up two boxes of raspberries. "Koko and Kitsu." And last, he picked up strawberries. He didn't say anything to that.

"You like strawberries?" I asked. He didn't respond at once, but I got a nod. I smiled and told him they were my favourite.

After getting some bread and butter, we went to pay. We walked in silence back to the house. Somehow, it was comfortable.

I didn't do much that week. I just studied and cleaned my room once. I also cleaned around the house, since it looked like a huge mess. I asked Ruka if it was okay if I decorated the house a little, and since it was okay, I decorated with flowers and candles. It looked like a real home when I was done. Well, a home that includes a girl. But it wasn't girly. It still smelled like dude. At least I was friends with all of them now.

Who did I try to fool? Friends? HA! I'm laughing. Like I could be friends with such an arrogant jerk! It's only been a day since I thought we were friends... no, hours! He already proved me wrong.

"Why?"

He ignored me.

"Answer me."

He ignored me.

"Fine, be like that!"

He ignored me.

I stomped up the stairs and slammed my door shut after entering my room. I placed a chair in front of my door to before I lied down on my bed. I felt the tears running down my cheeks. I heard the front door slam shut. Why did he do such a thing? I didn't deserve that. Did I do something wrong? I groaned. I heard a knock on my door.

"Mikan..." Ruka said with a gentle tone.

"Mikan-chan, will you let us in?" Yuu asked.

I didn't answer.

"What happened?" Kitsu asked. I could hear the worry in their tones and I smiled weak. I wiped my tears away, walked over to my door and removed my chair before opening it. I saw the five guys standing at my door. Their eyes showed worry and I felt guilty.

"I'm fine, guys. Thanks."

"What happened between you?"

It was silent for a tiny while, but I broke it. "It's nothing... I don't want to talk about it." I looked at my feet.

"Okay. Do you want to go out and eat with us? We're getting pizza." Tsubasa offered me, trying to tempt me by having pizza. I gave them a weak smile.

"You know, I'm not really hungry. I think I'll take a nap, I'm tired."

"Okay. Sweet dreams."

"Thanks. See you later."

I closed my door and leaned my back against it. I hated to feel this way.

I slept for hours and it felt great. I felt refreshed and later I went out for a walk in the evening. It wasn't cold outside, but it wasn't warm either. It was comfortable. It was a small breeze making my hair fly in the air and tickle my skin. I walked on a path next to a river. I heard the stream in the river. I don't know how, but I liked that sound. It made me relax a little. I started to hum a son my parents used to sing me to sleep. That was, before they left me. Not many people knew my past; only Yoichi, his parents and my old neighbour. I never told anyone that my parents actually ran away, leaving me with Yoichi and his family. They left me. They _left _me. Just thinking about it made me want to cry. Maybe it's just like Natsume said. They were so sick of me that they left me with Yoichi's family. The only thing they left behind was a note with the words '_we're sorry'_. I touched my cheeks and wiped my tears away. I sighed and shook my head, hoping the thoughts would disappear. I kept on walking, until I came to a bridge, where I walked into the middle of it and leaned on the face. I saw my reflection in the water. Seeing myself in the water, I felt I didn't look like myself. I tried to smile, but didn't manage. I felt awful again. Like someone took all my energy and literally dragged it out of me. I stood there, looking down the stream for a long time. I didn't even notice that the sun was already going down. Within 30 minutes, it would be dark. It was at least a 45 minute's walk back, so I should be going. I couldn't. My feet wouldn't move, it was like they were glued to the bridge. I jumped a bit when my cell phone started to vibrate in my pocket all of a sudden.

_Ruka calling. _

"Hello, Ruka?"

"Mikan! Where are you? You've been gone for more than 4 hours."

"I have?" I heard the surprise in my own voice. "I'm on my way back now."

"Let me meet you somewhere on the way. It will be dark soon."

"I'm okay. I'll head back soon, so just wait there."

"Mikan. We're worried."

"Thank you, but you don't need to. I'm fine and I'll be back soon. I promise."

"Okay." Ruka still didn't sound convinced. "But call me if anything happens."

"Of course. I'm already walking towards the road."

"On a path by a river."

"Okay. Hurry back. We ordered dinner, it should be here in a while."

"Sounds great. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and started to walk a little quicker. I walked for 30 minutes, when I saw three figures coming my way. It was dark, so I couldn't see their faces. When they were near enough, I sighed.

"I told you that you didn't need to meet me."

"But it's already dark outside. You're along and a girl." Tsubasa grinned. I looked over at Yuu and Ruka, they were smiling as well. I smiled and thanked them. We started to walk again.

"Are you feeling any better?" Yuu asked me. The others looked at me as well. Their eyes showed how worried they were.

"I'm fine. I told them, even if I didn't know myself. I still felt tired and sad, but not broken. It's not that easy to break me. We walked back and I just listened to the boys talking. I didn't have anything to say after all. I was glad when they didn't make me a part of the conversation. When we walked through the door, I was immediately squished by Koko's hug. He had leapt forwards and shouted my name after I had taken a step through the door. We all laughed and went to the living room. Natsume wasn't there. We ate and watched a movie.


	9. Chapter 9

I said 'come in' and even more surprised when I saw the person I didn't expect to see.

"What are you doing here?"

The person walked over to me and reached out his hand. I stared at his hand for a long time. He sighed and grabbed my hand and placed something inside it. I looked inside my hand and was surprised when I saw my amulet my parents gave me when I was a kid. The amulet that he broke one week ago.

"You fixed it?" I looked up at him with a blank expression.

"..."

"But why were you in my room?" I always leave the amulet in my room.

"Laundry. It fell down and I didn't see it, stepped on it on my way out."

"But why didn't you tell me earlier? And I thought I said I could do my own laundry..."

He didn't answer so I continued. "Well, thanks… this amulet means a lot to me…"

"Hn." He turned around and started to walk out.

"Natsume..." I stopped him.

I smiled. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Thank you!" I tip-toed and kissed him on the cheek before I blushed and looked down.

He said nothing before rushing out. I looked at the door he closed behind him and tried to stop smiling. I guess we're… well, not friends, but on the way there. How long will this last this time? I just hoped that we wouldn't fight again. I'm really sick of fighting.

The girls invited me to go shopping. I, on the other hand, was looking for a job. Sumire complained about me. I was clearly supposed to go shopping, not to look for a job. I found one outfit that I liked, while Sumire found 15 for me. I ended up with three. The other girls also bought some stuff, but a lot more than I did.

"Girls, I'm hungry!" Anna suddenly said. I giggled, and let the other girls decide where to eat. I didn't really care that much. The girls are so lucky. They're all rich. They didn't need a job and they never had any money problems. Sumire is the most spoiled of them all. I followed them to a place to eat, but I froze when I saw the prices on the menu.

"Girls, this is way too expensive for me!" I told them.

"It's okay, I'll treat you." Nonoko said.

"No, I can't let you do that…" I started to protest.

The food was served and I growled a little. The girls giggled.

"Nonoko, you didn't have to…"

Yes… The girls made me let Nonoko treat me. But what could I do? Five girls, glaring at me like they'll kill me if I didn't give in! The food was delicious! I ate pasta with some French words. Misaki explained to me what it was, but I don't remember. When we were eating, I suddenly choked, and the girls were really surprised. Nonoko patted my back, since she sat right next to me.

"Mikan, are you okay?" Anna asked me.

"Excuse me." I got up and walked across the restaurant and around the corner where the toilet was.

"Yuu!" I whisper-yelled.

A waiter turned around and I was right. Right in front of me, my wide eyes saw Yuu. He smiled and walked over to me.

"Hey, Mikan-chan." He smiled.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, without greeting him.

"Working. Isn't it obvious?"

"I didn't know that you work here! You never told me"

"Well, you never asked and it never came up in our conversations." He explained. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm with the girls."

"Ahaa… Great food, right?" He winked at me.

I giggled and nodded.

"I wish that I had a job. You're really lucky." I sighed.

"Well, it isn't many people that work here. I can recommend you."

"Really?" I grinned at him.

"Yeah, sure… Koko works here too."

"He does?" I didn't even try to hide my surprise. I mean, Koko. He jokes and set up pranks all the time! Koko working seriously?

Yuu nodded. He looked inside the staff-door and excused himself, telling me he would be right back. I didn't have a change to respond before I saw Yuu walk through the door. Soon, Yuu came out again with a man. The man was wearing a suit, without a jacket. I smiled at him.

"Boss, this is Mikan, Sakura, Mikan, this is my boss, Goshima-san." Yuu explained.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Goshima!" I shook his hand.

"Likewise, Sakura-san. I understand that you are looking for a job"

"Yes. I can work as anything, a waitress, washing the dishes, cleaning…"

"Why don't you come back tomorrow, and I'll test you"

"Sure, thanks Goshima-san!" I grinned.

Goshima-san left after telling Yuu to get back to work and I jumped a little in excitement after making sure he was gone. "Thank you so much, Yuu!"

Yuu laughed. "It's nothing. But you probably should go, the girls are waiting for you"

"Oh, right! Thanks again!" I said before I almost ran over to the girls. I told them about what had happened. We ate our food and we went shopping again. I did end up buying a bag as well. When we were on our way out of the mall, I bumped into someone.

I just entered the house and all the other guys were in the living room. I walked in, unable to remove the grin on my face.

"MIKAN!"

"huh?" I snapped out of it and looked at the guys in the living room.

"What happened?" Tsubasa-sempai looked worried.

"I met someone" I giggled. "He's really cute, funny, handsome..." I sighed. The guys raised their eyebrows and looked at me weird.

"What?"

"What was his name?"

"It's-" I was interrupted by my phone ringing and I giggled when I saw the name. I answered it.

"Hey. It's only been an hour and you already called." I giggled again. I ignored the weird looks I got from the boys in front of me.

"Hmm…. Sunday?... No, I'm free. Why?"…. "A date?" my grin got wider. "Sure. What time?" … "Okay, I'll see you then." I hung up and sighed heavy. My eyes went over to the guys in front of me.

"Umm… What's wrong?" I asked nervously.

"Who was that?" Kitsu asked for all of them.

"The guy I met earlier today. He asked me out!" I giggled again. God, I giggle a lot, don't i?

"Who is he?" Ruka asked.

"His name is Natsuke. He told me he was raised in England, but born here in Japan. Here, I took a contact photo on my phone." I showed them the picture.

"Hey, that's Natsuke!"

"You know him?"

"He's my twin brother. But he was raised in a school in Cambridge, since he was sick when he was younger. He is cured now, so he's back."

I stared at the guy that told me that. No way… Natsuke's…

"But you don't look anything alike!" I protested, without knowing why.

"All twins don't look alike, you know!"

"Yeah, I know, but..." I didn't manage to finish that sentence.

"Will it be weird between you since I'm his brother?"

"Well, no..."

I can't believe it… Natsuke is his twin brother!


	10. Chapter 10

"Natsuke!"" I shouted and waved as I ran towards him with a huge smile. When I reached

him, I supported myself by holding my hands on my knees to catch my breath. "I'm sorry for being late." I panted. Natsuke just laughed at me.

"It's okay, no worries!" he told me, still chuckling.

I stood up like a normal person and smiled. "What are we doing today?" I asked.

"What do you say to a walk, a movie or dinner?"

"Hmm... What about a movie, then a walk and then dinner?" I suggested.

He smiled at me even brighter and agreed. 25 minutes later, we were looking at the list of movies. We chose a comedy, went to get snacks and went into the theatre.

3 hours later, we were in the restaurant and had just ordered. We sat there for two hours, talking and eating. After arguing about me paying or not, he payed and walked me home.

"Thank you for today. And for walking me home. You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." He smiled.

"I had fun." I told him.

"Me, too."

Natsume opened his mouth to say something, but my phone started ringing. He made a hand gesture, telling me to answer it.

_Tsubasa-sempai calling_

"Hello?" I said.

"Mikan, where are you? It's already dark outside." I heard Tsubasa-sempai's worried tone.

"Don't worry, I'm right outside. I'm coming inside in a minute."

"Okay."

We hung up. I turned back to Natsuke with a smile.

"So..." I said.

"So..." He repeated.

I giggled. "See you again soon?" I asked.

"Yeah, that would be great."

"Well, goodnight then." I said.

"Sweet dreams."

I took a small step forwards, tip-toped and kissed him on the cheek. We both started to blush and I hurried inside. When I walked into the kitchen, I saw five guys staring at me curious. I also saw two feet under the opened refrigerator door.

"Hey." I greeted them.

"How was your date?" Koko asked teasingly.

"Great" I smiled. "Goodnight." I went out the door and up the stairs. I knew the guys wanted to ask more, but I don't need to tell them everything, now do I?"

A few weeks and three dates later, I was told to invite Natsuke over for a BBQ party with the girls and my 'roomies'. I was standing next to the gill together with Natsume when the doorbell rang. Koko and Kitsu ran to the door before I had turned around. I just shrugged and turned back to the grill, placing some more hot dogs on it.

"Isn't the steak done by now?" I asked Natsume, who just poked it with a fork before telling me it needed a few more minutes. Koko and Kitsu came back with the girls behind them. They were looking down as if they were sad and depressed.

"What's up with them? It's liked they're disappointed to see us." Anna said with a confused face and a pout. I giggled and told her who they were waiting for. The girls laughed and sat down. I walked over to them, leaving the grill to Natsume and sat down.

"How are things between you and him?" Misaki asked.

"What do you mean things? We're friends." I told them, refusing to let the blush grow.

Koko and Kitsu suddenly stood on each side of me, with their arms around my shoulders.

"You've had four dates." Koko said. Okay, so the blush grew very noticeable.

"Tell us!" Nonoko seemed excited.

"It's was... nice. We've been going to a few movies, we've walked around, hanged out in the park... and he walks me home."

"Did you kiss?" Sumire asked. They all looked at me, expecting something. I just shook my head.

"Hold hands with him yet?"

"Once." I confessed.

"Did you cuddle during the movie? Please, tell me that you at least shared popcorn!" Sumire seemed disappointed in me when I just shook my head again. I was glad the doorbell rang before they could say any-, no... before they could scold me. Koko and Kitsu, once again, ran to the door and soon we heard them yell in sync in a singing voice.

"Miiikaaan! Your boooyfriend is heeereee!"

I blushed a very deep red and yelled back. "He is not my boyfriend!" I shouldn't have shouted, since they were already at the terrace. I blushed even more and looked down. Natsuke came up to me and placed his hand on my chin to make me look up. He leaned down and pecked me on the lips. All of us, especially me, stared at him with wide eyes. I saw his lips moving, but all I could hear was buzzing. I kept staring at him and I guess he felt a little uncomfortable since he poked me.

"Mikan-chan." I snapped out of it and asked him to repeat himself.

"Do you want me to be your boyfriend?" I asked. And when I thought that I couldn't be more surprised, he proved me wrong.

"Y-you like me?" I stuttered out. I'm sure everyone heard the shock in my tone.

"What's not to like?" he asked.

"You don't have to like her clumsiness, she's a mess, way too naive, she got a _I'm always right_ attitude, she yells at you if you take _one _strawberry..." the annoying person gave me a glare.

"Natsume, shut up. I bought those strawberries to make a cake." I pouted and shomeown, a staring, no, _glaring_ contest began. The others chuckled. They heard the front door open and soon, Tsubasa-sempai and Yuu were at the terrace with us.

"Tsubasa! Yuu!" Natsuke sounded surprised. I rolled my eyes and turned away from Natsume.

"You three know each other?" I asked. Then I heard her annoying voice behind me.

"She's very forgetful.

"Natsume!" I glared at him.

"Mikan, you forgot? He's my brother." Tsubasa-sempai said. My mouth was formed like an 'o'.

"Riiiight, I remember now! You told me a few weeks ago!"

"How do you two know each other?" Natsuke asked.

"We live together." His _twin brother_ told him.

"You live along with 6 girls?" Natsuke looked at Tsubasa-sempai shocked.

"Nope. 5 boys and a girl." Tsubasa-sempai replied like it was nothing. Natsuke looked at me.

"You live along with 6 guys?" Natsuke still had the same shocked expression on his face. I nodded while blushed.

"Does it bother you?" I asked.

Yuu, Tsubasa and Natsuke laughed while we others just exchanged confused looks. Well, except Natsume.

"The steak is ready. By the way, the hot dogs you were making are turning black soon."

"Ahhh!" I rushed over and took the hot dogs off the grill and onto a plate. I put the plate on the table and we all sat down.

"So, Natsuke; this is Koko, Kitsu, Ruka and Natsume. Anna, Nonoko, Hotaru, Misaki and Sumire. I have a feeling you already know Yuu and Tsubasa." I introduced them as I pointed on them.

"Yes, Yuu and I met when we were quite young. It is nice to meet all of you." He smiled. They all, except Natsume, smiled at him and some of them greeted him back.

"And I didn't forget. It's nice to see you again, Natsume. I was surprised to see you here." Natsuke grinned.

I was shocked and just stared at Natsuke.

"You two know each other?" Anna asked.

"We met back in England." Natsuke explained.

"That's right, Natsume, you went to England three years ago, right?" Ruka asked, looking at him.

"Not exactly. I came back three years ago."

"Why did you go there?" Koko asked.

"Aoi got in an accident during a vacation with our parents. She went to the hospital, so I took the trip to be with her. I met Natsuke at the hospital." Natsume told us.

"Why were you in the hospital?" I asked, looking at Natsuke.

"Just a normal check up. I told you before, didn't I?" He said, staring right into my eyes.

According to the girls, we sat there smiling and stared at each other for a long time. Yuu and Tsubasa-sempai bought some chicken and hamburgers from the grill. Anna took out her homemade salad and we had plenty of food. We ate and had a great time that day. In the end, Anna and Nonoko made all of us, including the boys, play a game I didn't exactly love.

"Truth or dare?" Sumire asked.

I gulped and picked the wrong one.

"Dare."

I was nervous. Why did I even pick that one if it was Sumire asking? Her smirk got evil.

"I dare you to repeat the last dare."

"No." I replied quickly.

"Come on." She said.

"No." I repeated.

"A dare is a dare, Mikan. You got to do it." Misaki said. She's mean.

"I don't want to."

"Come on, Mikan." Nonoko said. She, too, is mean.

I sighed and looked over at Natsume.  
>"Can I talk to you inside?" I pretended I didn't know about my cheeks burning red as I blushed.<p>

I walked quickly, almost ran, inside. Natsume followed quietly. Once inside, he smirked at me. I glared at him.

"Do you... remember that week Aoi was here?"

"Yes."

"I asked something of you... that week. Could you... repeat it?"

"Do you mean the driving lessons, following you to the store, the cooking, or maybe the-"

"No, and I know that you know what I'm asking about and you know that I know that you know!"

He smirked. My blush grew.

"Say it then; since you know so much." I glared at him.

"Can you or not?"

"Say the word." His smirk widened.

"Please?" I tried.

"Not that word." He said. "What do you want me to do?"

I sighed. I was getting mad. When I'm mad, I usually do whatever to get over with what I have to do. In this case, the dare.

"Just shut up and kiss me."I said it, no stuttering, my cheeks red as tomatoes and my tone was very irritated.

Natsume smirked and placed his fingers on my chin to make me look up. He pulled me a little close and leaned in.


	11. Chapter 11

Natsume smirked and placed his fingers on my chin to make me look up. He pulled me a little close and leaned in. I felt my heart starting to beat faster and my face kept burning. I closed my eyes and waited. I heard a small chuckle in my ear.

"Do you really think I'll kiss you when your boyfriend is right outside that door? Also, I'll only kiss you in your dreams." I heard Natsume whisper. I opened my eyes and saw Natsume walking out the door. I walked over to the door, but I didn't get any further. My feet refused to obey. I saw Natsume sit down, but I couldn't hear a thing. Sumire's lips moved, but I didn't hear her talk. The other girls seemed to be whining. I saw that Natsume spoke and Ruka got up from his chair and walked over to me. He placed his hand on my shoulder. His lips moved. I shook my head and then my shoulders to get Ruka off. I hurried over to my chair. I've never been so humiliated. I finally heard something and I didn't like what I heard; a chuckle._ His_ chuckle.

"Disappointed?"

"Not at all. More relieved. I mean, it was bad the first time, so I didn't look forwards to force myself through it again. I'm glad you didn't." I said before taking a sip of my drink, tried to act normal.

"So it was bad, huh? Well, I guess no one is better than your teddy bear after all." Natsume smirked.

I glared at him.

"I have never! Besides, Ella the Elephant is a girl!" I snapped at him. Before anyone could ask, I explained to them that Ella was a stuffed toy my childhood best friend gave to me the year I moved in with him.

"Who is your childhood friend?" Anna asked.

"His name is Yoichi." I told them. "He's a cousin of one of you, isn't he?" I looked at the guys.

"Ruka's." Yuu told me.

"You're nothing alike!" I was shocked. "He's more like the arrogant jerk than you, Ruka!"

The jerk snorted. I glared at him. Ruka chuckled nervously.

"Well, I can agree with you on some points, they are alike, but-"

I cut him off when I remembered something. I quickly stood up and stared at Natsume with wide eyes.

"Please tell me that Yoichi never called you nii-chan."

"He still does."

I walked inside quickly before getting my cell phone out and dialled a number. My anger was built up already; but this was the icing on the cake. I knew the others could hear me, but I didn't care.

"Hello?"

"YOU ANNOYING LITTLE BRAT!" I yelled.

"Mi-chi?"

"Oh, DON'T YOU MI-CHI ME!I AM SO PISSED AT YOU RIGHT NOW! OH, AND I JUST CALLED TO TELL YOU THAT THERE IS NO WAY I WILL EVER LOSE THIS BET NOW, SINCE I NOW KNOW WHO THAT SO-CALLED NICE AND CARING NII-CHAN OF YOURS IS! NICE AND CARING? REALLY? AS IF!" I shouted before I hung up, threw the phone at the wall and ran up the stairs and into my room. I locked the door as I always did; with a chair. I went to a mirror on the wall, surprised to find tears already making my cheeks wet. I touched my burning cheeks and wiped my tears away. I lied down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Around an hour later, there was a knock on my door.

"Mikan-chan?" I heard Anna's angelic voice. "Natsuke-kun is leaving now, and he's hoping to talk to you before he leaves."

"I'm sorry about earlier." I looked at my feet as I didn't manage to look him into the eyes. I heard a soft chuckle and I looked up confused.

"It's fine. It was... refreshing... and cute." Natsuke said. I felt my cheeks once again turning red.

"Mikan... Can I call you that?" He suddenly asked. It really surprised me, but I nodded.

"Mikan?"

I looked at him, finally. "Yes?"

"You said something about a bet earlier. What was that?"

I stared at him dumbfounded for a tiny while.

"Oh... _that._" I didn't exactly know what to say. "Well, I made a bet with Yoichi. He's like my little brother and we often dare each other to do things. If I can live with his cousin, Ruka, and his friends for a certain period of time, he'll be my slave for two months. If I can't I'll be his slave for a month. He told me that one of the things he'll make me do is to go after his nii-chan. Now that I know it's Natsume, I really won't lose. I only accepted because I thought I would be living with girls." I explained everything in a hurry, so I needed to take a deep breath after finishing.

"Relax." Natsuke chuckled. "I guess that means you can't accept my offer." He looked at me before continuing. "To let me be your boyfriend."

"You really want to be?" I asked, a little overwhelmed. He nodded. "I... I need to think about it." I said.

Natsuke nodded again. It took me a few seconds to realize he was leaning in. I got nervous and my eyes widened. I hurried to close my eyes before I felt something touch my cheek. I opened my eyes to find Natsume leaning back again. He just gave me a peck on the cheek.

"Night, Mikan. I'll see you soon."

I watched as Natsuke walked down the street. I stared after his figure as it disappeared into the dark. What kind of mess did I get into?

There were a few things I got to know that day:

Natsuke is Tsubasa-sempai's twin brother.

Ruka is Yoichi's cousin.

Natsuke wants to be my boyfriend because he likes me.

The girls are mean, and should be completely trusted.

Never pick dare with those girls around.

There were also a few things I needed to know:

Why did I feel relieved when Natsuke didn't kiss me on the lips?

Why did my heart beat so fast with Natsume?

What was that feeling and loss of hearing earlier?

Why the hell was I disappointed when Natsume backed off?


	12. Chapter 12

One week later, I woke up a Sunday morning feeling uneasy. I got up iPod from the night table and my laptop from the floor beside my bed. I started to download music in order to update my iPod. An hour later, I walked around the empty house until I found a door I hadn't seen before. There was no name on the front, so I guessed it wasn't a bedroom. No one responded when I knocked on the door, so I carefully opened it. I found treadmills. I smiled to myself, went to change and then went back to the room. I worked out for an two hours before the door opened again.

"Hey Mikan-chan."

"Hey Ruka." I smiled and paused my treadmill and slowly stopped running. "How are you?" I asked.

"Great. You?"

"I'm good."

"What are you doing here?" Natsume asked after entering the room?

"Working out, isn't it obvious?"

We glared at each other until Ruka fake-coughed. I stepped off the machine and went towards the door.

"Bye Ruka." I gave Ruka a smile before exiting and closed the door behind me.

"Why can't the two of you ever get along for more than five minutes? What did she do to you, Natsume?" I heard Ruka through the door. I have to say, I was curious as well. I heard nothing but a sigh, which I guessed was Ruka when Natsume ignored him.  
>I walked back to my room, got my clothes and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I smiled when I saw the lock installed. Natsume and I didn't speak to each other later on.<p>

When I was lying in bed before falling asleep, my cell phone rang and it was Natsuke. My heart was beating fast and I didn't know what I to say. When I picked up, all he said was "Hey".

"Hey." I said I said, almost whispered.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I smiled.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Your voice sounded depressed. Is it because I called you?"

I giggled. "I'm just tired."

"Oh. Well, I just wanted to ask you something. Can I meet you tomorrow?"

I felt uncomfortable when he asked me that. Does that mean he wants to know my answer?

"I'm not asking you to give your answer right away; I just want to see you." He continued, since I didn't answer.

"I… guess, sure. Where and when?"

"What about the park? After school?" he suggested.

"Sure. I'll see you then." I smiled to myself.

"Sweet dreams." He said before he hung up. I feel asleep very quickly.

The next morning, after making breakfast in silence with Natsume, we sat down and ate together with the boys.

"So you two made up?" Koko suddenly blurted out after a 10 minutes of silence. He was looking at Natsume and me.

"We never fought." Natsume said. Then it hit me. He was right. I was so used to always fighting with him; I acted as if we were in a fight. Why on earth was I mad at him? Not because he didn't kiss me the day before. I was overreacting, but I was also mad. Why? Shoot... I'm going to think about this all day, aren't I?

I was right. I never stopped thinking about it. In all of my classes, between my classes, during lunch time and I'm still thinking about it. I went to the park and met up with Natsuke. We're sitting in the grass, but one or two meters away from each other. We were just sitting there watching people in the park.

"Hey, Mikan?"

"Hmm?" I looked over at him.

"Is there something wrong? You seem... distant."

I forced a smile. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Ne, Natsuke..." I started, ignoring his question.

"Yeah?"

"You remember right before you left the BBQ party yesterday?" I blushed and looked at my feet. I saw a smile appear on his face and nodded.

"Could you... repeat what you did?" I asked, speaking in almost a whisper.

Without saying anything, he stood up and walked over to me. He bent down and was at my eye level. I closed my eyes and waited. My heart was beating was as I became more and more nervous. I heard a weird sound like someone falling on the grass. I opened my eyes and saw Natsuke sitting a little away from me, with his back facing me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"Did you know what you did when I was leaning in?" He asked, making me even more confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were leaning backwards." He paused. "I guess I got your answer, then." He got up and left me there. I felt so stupid.

"What did I do?" I mumbled to myself.

A few days later, I was walking away from campus with the girls. I was surprised to see Natsuke leaning on the school gate. I excused myself from the girls and jogged over to him.

"Natsuke?" I started. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey Mikan. I just wanted to apologize for that other day. I shouldn't have left you like that, it was rude."

"No, it's not your fault. I was the one who-"

"Do you like Natsume?" He cut me off. I was shocked at his question.

"What? Why do you think that?" My voice betrayed me as it got a bit louder at the end. Natsuke laughed like he had finally understood something.

"I see... So that's why you rejected me."

"What? No, I don't like him!" I tried to stay calm.

"Sure, you don't." He said sarcastically. "I also wanted to ask; what about we stay as friends?"

I stared at him a little dumbfounded, but snapped out of it quickly. "That would be great." I grinned.

"Well, I have to go; meeting up with Tsubasa."

We bid goodbye and I watched him run down the street and around the corner. When I turned around, the girls were right behind me. Hotaru was a bit further behind.

"Girls, can't you be like Hotaru? Have you ever heard of privacy?"

"No. Tell us everything!" They nagged me all the way to the library and only stopped when the librarian told them to keep quiet.

A few hours later, I was outside the supermarket waiting for Ruka. He was late. After 15 minutes, I called him.

"Hey Ruka. Where are you?"

"Oh, Hey. Mikan-chan, I'm sorry I can't make it. I told Natsume to go for me. He should be there soon. I'm sorry, got to go. I'll see you later. Bye!"

He hung up and I rolled my eyes. My thoughts drifted away to what Natsuke had asked earlier.

_Do you like Natsume? Sure, you don't. _

What did he mean by that? I don't like Natsume. I mean, who would? He's arrogant, annoying, he thinks he's better and smarter than-

"Oi."

"Huh?" I looked up and saw Natsume giving me somewhat of a blank stare. He continued to stare at me and ignored me when I asked him if there was something on my face. I felt a blush slowly growing as this continued, but soon he just shook his head and went inside. I followed him and got a basket. We got the ingredients for our dinner. We walked home in silence. Why was I so nervous around him? It's all Natsuke's fault, making me over think this.


	13. Chapter 13

Stupid Tsubasa-sempai. Stupid Koko. Stupid Kitsu. Stupid Ruka. Stupid Natsuke. Stupid Yuu. The girls too; stupid.

It's been almost two months since that day in the park with Natsuke. I was sitting along in the living room with Natsume, with no way of getting out. The others had locked us inside. I knew it was Natsuke and Ruka's idea. The others liked the idea and tagged along, those stupid people.

"Could you relax?" I felt his glare at me even if I didn't see it. It was uncomfortable. I turned around with light difficulties. I stumbled over and sat down on the other side of the couch. I still felt his stare at me.

"What?!" I snapped when I couldn't take it anymore. What Natsuke said never left my mind. Never. Natsume just looked away and picked up a book from the table before he started reading. I just sat there, trying to think of something else. I looked over at Natsume.

"Is there something on my face?" He suddenly looked up at me. His eye contact made me look down with a blush on my face. I felt nervous.

"Why do you ask?"

"You've been staring the last 8 minutes."

I looked over at my watch and felt my cheeks grow hotter. I muttered a sorry and looked anywhere but in his direction.

"You're not going to calm down, are you?" he suddenly asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I am calm."

"Then stop shaking."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

…. This went on for a few more rounds.

"Well, it's your fault anyway!" I blurted out. I realized what I had said and covered my mouth with my hands.

"Why?"

I just shook my head. I shouldn't say anything else, but I had a feeling he would force it out of me.

"Nothing." I said.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"I like you, okay?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Say something!"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you like me?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I said I don't know so I don't know!" I snapped. "First you hate me, then you're nice, then you hate me again, then we kiss, and then you hate me again and then nice and then hate me. What am I supposed to do?"

"So, why do you like me?"

I could only glare at him. "I. Said. I. Don't. KNOW!" I yelled at him. He started chuckling.  
>"What?" I snapped and glared at him.<p>

"You're cute when you're angry."

That made me shut up. I blushed deep red and raised my feet so I sat in a ball-like position and stared at my feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. My cheeks were burning. I heard him chuckle once again.

"So you like me." He said.

"No." I denied.

"I… like that you're considerate. You're honest and you take the consequences. How should I say it... Like that time with the bracelet... You let me stay mad at you until you had fixed the problem. I was mad at you for days, why didn't you tell me what had happened and that you were going to fix it?"

"What's the point in that? You probably wouldn't believe me and you also wouldn't let me take it to repair. Instead, you would take it and cry about the broken."

_That might be true_, I thought and unconsciously shrugged my shoulders while nodding. I looked up at him, and he looked the other way. When he looked at me again, I quickly looked at my feet again. I felt his stare at me and my blush appearing on me cheeks.

"I already know what you feel about me, so you don't need to say anything. It's okay." I said, not looking at him. He didn't say anything, so I walked to the door. I wanted to tell them to open the door but I discovered that it was already open. I walked outside and I saw everyone in the stairs 1 meter away from the door. "Thanks a lot." I said it in a bit annoyed tone, just to make them feel guilty. I walked past them and up to my room and placed the chair in front of the door once again. It wasn't before I lied down in my bed I discovered I was crying. I thought back to what just happened and I put my music on full so the they could hear my music downstairs in order to cry without them knowing. I started crying for real while lying on my bed, burying my face in my pillow. When I woke up again, the music was still on, since I put it on repeat, and my stomach growled. I was hungry. I walked over to my stereo and turned the music off. I walked over to my mirror and got some make-up remover napkins and took off all of my make-up. I changed into my PJs and then I walked over to the door. I peeked outside and I saw no one. I tried to open the door more, but something stopped it. I looked down and saw a tray with food and a bottle of water. I also saw a note saying "Call me if you need to talk. Anna." I smiled and picked the tray up. I felt guilty when I noticed that the food was cold. I walked, no sneaked down to the kitchen. No one was home. I walked over to the microwave and started reheating the food Anna made. I noticed a note lying there, too. "We're going out for tonight. We'll be home late, so don't wait up. The girls wanted to sleep over, so I told them to ask you if you felt up for it. Call if you need anything. Ruka." I smiled and my food was finished after a few minutes. I ate and then called the girls to invite them over. They came within 30 minutes, and I was already dressed up. I needed to go out. We went out to a teenager club and we danced and laughed for a long time. Suddenly, a guy came up to me and asked me to dance. I agreed and after he danced he offered to buy me a drink. We flirted for a while, but in the end he asked for my number. I said I didn't remember, but it seemed that he didn't like that answer. He grabbed my arm and tried to force me to give it to him. I tried to get out of his grip but I was unable too. A few people was looking at us and I felt my eyes getting teary.

"She said 'let go'" I heard a voice behind me. A really familiar voice.

"Get lost, bastard." The guy holding me said.

I felt another hand placing itself on my waist and I closed my eyes. I heard a weird noise, felt my wrist being let go of and someone held me close to them; like a one-arm hug. I opened my eyes and saw the guy on the floor, bleeding a bit from his mouth. I gasped and looked up to see raven hair and crimson eyes. He dragged me outside the club and let me go.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

"I could say the same to you. Why did you rescue me? No one asked you too. You don't even like me, so why rescue me? "

He didn't answer and just stared at me. "I never said I don't like you." He said. I just stared at him.

"So you like me then?"

"You can't be with me."

"That's not what I asked."

"You don't like me. Really. You like my appearance. You don't know anything about my past or who that made me. It would just scare you away."

"I asked if you like me or not!"

"Yes, damn it! Of course I do, but you don't know anything, but you still go on about my feelings that you've misunderstood. I'm too much trouble, so it's better for you to stay away."

"Maybe I can-"

"No. My problem is my problem. You don't deserve to get dragged into it."

"Please…" I felt my eyes getting teary and my tears ran down my cheeks. "Tell me."

He sighed and grabbed my hand, dragged me away and we were soon at the house. We sat at the kitchen in silence for a while before he spoke.

"It was 3 years ago. My sister went to England with my parents. I never got on good terms with my father, but my relationship with Aoi is another thing. Aoi and I talked to each other every day. She told me about a guy she met in England. I've met him once, he's a nice guy. She told me that she liked him so I encouraged her. He's a year older that her and one day they had a date. During that day, Aoi was in an accident together with that guy. Aoi told me about their date. They watched a movie, went to a restaurant and they wanted to take a walk in the park. He went to buy some ice cream while she was waiting at a bench. Some older, drunk, guys came up to her and started flirting. They got mad since she didn't want to go with them, and her date ran over to her and protected her. The guy punched her date right in the face and he fell backwards, on Aoi. He started bleeding bad as he hit his head hard quite hard. The drunken men…" I could see the anger and regret in Natsume's face. "The drunken men… they pulled Aoi up by her hair and swung her around and she fell in the river. She didn't know how to swim and she almost drowned. The drunken men got scared by the police and they ran off. The police sent the both of them to the hospital. The guy was okay, but he had his nose broken and a concussion. Aoi, on the other hand, had swallowed so much water and she was unconscious for a week. My dad had an argument with Aoi about this guy after she woke up. Since I encouraged her, this was my entire fault. Aoi refused and tried to convince my dad, but he didn't listen. But he's right. It was my fault. If I hadn't encouraged her to go out with the guy, it would never have happened. Aoi almost died because of an advice I gave her. During the year after that, I got into so many fights. I got suspended from school many times and I hang out around in the city late at night. The police brought me home during the middle of the night too often for my father's liking. I started drinking and trashed the house once. I got into the biggest fight with my dad and moved out. I stopped all of those old habits when I moved here. I wanted to be there for Aoi if she ever needed me to." I could see his fist clench together. I went closer to him and hugged him.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

No. You didn't know it would happen. How were you supposed to? You only want the best for Aoi. If it's anyone's fault, it's those drunken men."

I was a bit surprised when he hugged me back. He hid is face in my neck and his breath were a bit tickling. I continued to hug him and stroke his back for a while. He made me pull back and my eyes widened when he placed his lips on mine. His lips were warm. I felt my cheeks burn as hell, knowing I was redder that a tomato. He pulled back and whispered a small "_thank you"_. I smiled at him and hugged him again comfortingly. We sat there for a long time until he pulled back again.

"I can't be with you." My heart fell when he said that, but I already knew. "because I'm like this. What if I go back to being that guy? There's a chance for that. It's easy to go back to being addictive. I'm unable to bring you happiness. I'll only bring sorrow and-"

I placed a finger on his lips and whispered a small '_Shhh'_

"I don't believe that. You've already made me happy. I just want to be with you, you know?"

He looked at me for a really long time.

"You don't care if I make you unhappy, frustrated, and confused or make you feel horrible? You don't deserve to feel that just because you're with me. I don't want to put you through anything like that."

"So you're planning on being alone for the rest of your life?" I asked him with a stern tone. He kept quiet. "And yes. I believe that I can help you. I don't know how yet, but I want to do my best. Let me share your pain. That way it can be easier."

He just kept staring at me, but after a while I could see his lips turning into a small smile.

"Then… Will you go out with me?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded. "I thought you would never ask."

We started laughing and he pulled me into another hug.

"Prepare for hell." He joked.

I could only laugh.


	14. Chapter 14

Here I am, nervous as hell. I looked back at the gate I had entered. I had already rung the doorbell, so I couldn't back out now. A man opened the door, and I stuttered out a nervous hello. A few minutes later, I was sitting in the living room on the couch. On the other side of the table was the man who had opened the door. He had light color hair and green eyes.

He was drinking tea a maid had served us. I looked around me nervously. They were really rich.

"My daughter will be home soon."

"huh?"

"You're not here to see her?" He stared at me, slightly confused.

"A-Actually… I'm here to see… you and your wife." I felt my nervousness building up for every second that passed.

"What business do you have here then?"

"I just have something I wanted to ask." I said in one breath, trying not to stutter.

We heard the front door open and a woman yelling "_I'm home!"_

The man stood up and walked to the door again.

"Welcome home, honey. Can you come inside the living room for a minute?"

"Why?" I heard her ask.

I heard their footsteps coming nearer and I stood up. Before me I saw a tall woman with a really nice figure. She had black shoulder-length hair parted in the middle and she had fire-red eyes; just like her son.

"Who's this?"

I swallowed nervously and introduced myself and bowed my head.

She bowed back and greeted me. We sat down and I felt the nervousness build up more and more.

I laughed nervously. The man just stared at me and the woman smiled.

"Well… the reason I'm here… Is because of your son."

I could see their eyes widen.

"How is he?" Mrs. Hyuuga asked.

"He's great."

"Are you close with him?"

I nodded shyly.

"What's your relationship with him?" Mr. Hyuuga suddenly asked.

"Umm... I've dated him for two months and a week." I blushed as I said it.

"Aww, how cute! You're still together, right?" I nodded. "Aw, that's so cute!" Mrs. Hyuuga giggled and stood up, walked over to me sat down next to me. She took my hands in hers and nudged me a little. "How far have you two gone?" my eyes widened and I blushed a lot.

"Th-That's n-not why I'm here, Hyuuga-san."

"Just call me Kaoru, Mikan-chan! You have to tell me everything! How did you get together? Did you confess or did he?"

"Honey. She has another reason for coming here. Let her talk."

I bowed a little to both of them.

"I know it's none of my business, but I really want to help. Natsume told me about what happened in England three years ago…" I saw them both stiffen a little. "Why haven't you talked to him in 2 years? He really cares for you. I know he misses both of you and it hurts him. He thinks you hate him."

"He almost killed my daughter, his own sister!" Mr. Hyuuga said, now mad.

"But that's not true! He just encouraged Aoi so she would feel more confident! He loves Aoi So much! If anyone got the blame, it would be those drun-'"

"Enough!" Mr. Hyuuga almost yelled. "you're right. This _is_ noneof your business, so get out of my house!" He stood up and was on his way out.

"Please!" I stood up and took a few steps forwards. I got down on my knees, laid my head on my hands that were on the floor. "Please forgive Natsume. He loved you and misses you. You have no idea how much you means to him."

"Mikan-chan…" Kaoru said. "Come on, honey. Can't you see what's happening here?"

"Leave." was everything he said. "I can't believe that guy would send his girlfriend to beg for forgiveness.

"Natsume doesn't know that I'm here. This is all my doing." I looked up at him. "Do you know what Natsume has on his desk in his room? In a really nice frame, he has one of your family pictures. All of you are smiling, no grinning. He's holding a baby Aoi in his arms, and you guys standing behind him and hugging him. I can see the happiness in your eyes. Natsume often looks at that picture. I see the sadness in his eyes now. He loves you so much…" I felt my tears running down my cheeks. "He's lonely. He doesn't want to tell me how sad he is; since he knows I'll worry. But I'll worry no matter what. I see how he acts. He's not happy without you. He's in the dark, and I can't help him. I don't have any light to help him out. I don't know what to do…"

"Mikan-chan." Kaoru said and walked over to me. She bent down and hugged me as I cried more. I wiped my tears away and bent down again. "Please, forgive him."

"Why should I forgive someone that hasn't done anything wrong?" Mr. Hyuuga suddenly asked."You're right. Natsume never did anything wrong. It was my fault. I doubted Aoi and-"

"No!" I almost yelled. "It's not your fault either! It's not your fault. It's not Natsume's fault. It's not Kaoru-san or Aoi's fault! It's not her date at that time's fault either. If someone is to blame, it will be those guys who don't know how much damage they've done. But please… Talk to Natsume again… He's in the dark. I can't help him out of there."

I felt to strong hands on my shoulders and they made me sit up. I saw Mr. Hyuuga in front of me, smiling with teary eyes. "Thank you so much, Sakura-san. You're right. I need to forget these things. They are in the past. Forgive and forget, right?" He smiled and I cried out in happiness. Kaoru smiled as well. "How should I contact him?"

"Ne, Natsume. Where are you?"

"At the store you forced me to go too, since you didn't have peach ice tea." He answered a bit annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Natsume, but I just painted my toe nails, so I can't go outside. It will ruin it. And no one else was home."

"Hn."

"I'm getting another call, so I'll talk to you later! Bye!"

I hung up before he could say anything else. I turned around and gave everyone a thumb up. I went over to the front door and locked it. I smirked to myself, since I had Natsume's keys in my hands. I walked into the kitchen and gasped.

"Anna! It's beautiful!"

Anna giggled. "Thanks. I'm pretty pleased with it myself."

"It really is lovely. He loves strawberries, too." I smiled and hugged my friend. We walked into the living room and helped the others with whatever they were doing.

30 minutes later, we heard Natsume walk up to the front door from inside and we all hid in the living room, turning the lights off. He tried to open the door. We waited as he looked for his keys and it took a few minutes before he knew he didn't have them. He knocked on the door.

"Oi, Idiot! Open the door!"

I blushed as the others giggled/ chuckled at his "loving" nickname for me. I glared into the dark. Well, I didn't hide, since I had to open the door.

"Hey! Open the door now!"

It was silence again and I almost jumped when my phone rang. I let it ring a few times before picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Open. The. Door. Now." I knew he was really annoyed at me right now, and I held my laughter in.

"Oh, I'm sorry Natsume. I had my ear plugs in, so I just saw the light on my phone turn on when you call."

"I don't care, just open the door."

"Right! I'm coming." I hanged up and ran walked up half the stairs, then ran down again, pretending I was upstairs. I opened the door and got a cold glare.

"Hi…" I smiled sweetly. He just shoved the ice tea in my hands.

"Let's go to the living room." I suggested.

"Give me a massage." He said, no; he ordered.

"What? Why?" I pouted.

"Because you forced me to go to the store and buy you ice tea and then locked me outside"

I pouted. "Fiiiineee…" I already knew I wouldn't have to give him a massage anyway. He walked towards the living room and I followed him. He went to turn the lights on and I couldn't stop smiling. When he turned the lights on, everyone jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE!". I laughed at his shocked expression as he looked at everyone. His eyes landed on me and I got a cold glare. I giggled nervously. I walked over to him, tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. "Happy birthday" I said.

"Nii-chan!" Aoi ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back but he froze when he saw who was behind Aoi.

"Mom… Dad…"

"Happy birthday, Natsume!" Kaoru said and hugged him. Natsume hugged her back, even as shocked as he is.

"Happy birthday, son." Mr. Hyuuga said, standing next to Kaoru-san, with a hand on her waist. _Such a lovely couple! _I mouthed for Tsubasa-sempai to turn the music up a little, loud enough for us to not hear the family talk and low enough for them to actually talk.

15 minutes later

I was standing with Hotaru and Sumire, talking about some girl stuff, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was spun around and I was surprised when I felt warm lips on my own. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. He pulled back and pulled me closer to him, like a hug. He pulled back and led me to the balcony. I blushed as I felt the others look at us. He walked around the door and leaned on the wall. No one could see us now. He pulled me into a hug again.

"My parents told me what you did."

I blushed and hid my face in his chest.

"Thanks for existing." He said and rested his chin on to top of my head. I just hugged him a little bit tighter and blushed even more if that was possible. "You're wrong" he said, after a few minutes of silence. "You told my parents that you have no light." He pulled back, out foreheads touching each other. "_You're my light" _He whispered. I smiled and closed my eyes. He lent down and kissed me. I kissed back, and we stayed out on the balcony for a while, before we went in and opened presents. I gave him a gift wrapped in polka-dotted paper. He got manga from Ruka and Yuu, some cloths from Tsubasa-sempai and Natsuke. I had wide eyes and my mouth dropped to the floor when he got a car from his parents. Aoi gave him something homemade she made at wood shop at her school. All the girls had got together and gave him a really expensive watch. The only left was Koko and Kitsu's gift and mine. He opened their gift, not showing it to the rest of us. He gave a death glare to the two boys. "Your death wishes are soon to be fulfilled." He said in a cold tone. The boys started running with Natsume after them. Tsubasa-sempai went over to the gift and looked inside. He started laughing.

"What is it?" I asked and started to walk over so I could see.

"I don't think you want to know" Tsubasa-sempai said and started walking backwards.

"Tsubasa-sempai. Tell me." I said.

"No." he said before he ran off.

"TSUBASA-SEMPAI!" I yelled after him, a bit annoyed. Natsume entered again and walked over to the balcony door. He locked it right before we could see Koko shirtless and Kitsu without pants outside appearing in front of the door, begging to come in.

"Natsume, what did they give you?" I asked him. Everyone was shocked. Did Natsume just _blush? _I walked over to him and pouted. "Tell me…" I gave him my saddest look. At this point, Tsubasa-sempai comes back into the room. He sighed and bent down and whispered something in my ear. _Sex-toys._ My eyes widened and I blushed myself. Now everyone was curious. I just walked over to the couch and sat down, in my 'ball position' and hid my face in embarrassment. I shot my head up fast as I remembered something. "Tsubasa-sempai! Where did you put the gift?" I almost shouted. "Don't worry, Mikan. No one will find it." I sighed in relief. We didn't let them in for an hour or so, and then they were sneezing and were very cold, o_f course._ Anna made warm chocolate and blankets.

"Ne, Mikan. You haven't given your gift to Natsume-kun yet." Nonoko said, and everyone looked at me. I looked at Natsume and he looked at me curious.

I blushed and picked up my gift. I could see Natsume's smirk when he saw it. I walked over to him and gave it to him. "Happy birthday, Natsume." He took it and opened it. It seemed like he took forever to open it and I felt my nervousness building up. He looked at me and had wide eyes.

"What did you get?" Aoi asked.

He took the gift out of the box and showed them. It was a pair of tickets to the concert of his favorite musician.

"It's boring to go to a concert alone, right? I bought you two so you can bring anyone you want." I gave him a smile. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. He whispered thanks in my ear and I just smiled.

At the end of the party, Natsume's parents and Aoi went home, the others fell asleep so it was up to me and Natsume to clean it all up.

"Natsume, I can clean this up. It's your party" I said while some glasses on a tray. He just gave me a look and I giggled. I stood up and I didn't really know what happened. I was suddenly in Natsume's arms and the glasses were all over the floor.

"Clumsy" Natsume mumbled, and carried me bridal style over to the couch. He put me down and sat beside me before he pulled me into his lap. I blushed a bit and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"So, you're going to meet up with your parents again soon, right?"

"Yeah. All thanks to you."

I didn't say anything, just smiled.


	15. Chapter 15

"Oh, God... I can't do this... I _can't _do this! I'm going to ruin everything." I

I walked back and forth in the living room. I wasreally nervous, if you didn't understand. I was panicking. "What if they don't like me? They probably won't, why should they? I'm me after all." I was talking to myself. Laughter made me turn around and I saw my fiancée standing in the doorway.

"Come on, Polka. They've met you lots of times and they all love you."

"I have only met three of them, Natsume! And stop calling me Polka! You've been calling me that ever since you did my laundry without me knowing, you big pervert!" I almost shouted. He walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me. "Natsume' you're choking me."

"You talk pretty well when you're being chocked."

I hit him not too hard in the stomach. "Idiot." The doorbell rang, and I freaked out again, only to be laughed at by Natsume.

* * *

><p>I sat in the living room. In a nice, comfortable chair and in front of me was a bunch of cute kids.<p>

"So, what happened after that, Grandma?"

"We went to open the door and it was Ruka. I was relieved and mad at the same time!"

We all laughed.

"Ruka came to deliver something. He too, laughed at me. He left soon after and the real guests came 10 minutes later. Aoi comforted me and made me feel a bit better. I was so happy when they all liked me, and they didn't care that I was a bit clumsy. The old people complimented me all the time, saying I was cute and cheerful. I was so happy that they liked me." I paused and looked at all my grandchildren. "Well, here I am. We got married, had your parents and then you came along." I smiled at them.

"Mom."

I turned around and saw one of my daughters in the doorway, holding something in her arm. More like some_one._ "The flight was late."

I smiled to her. "It's okay, At least you're okay. Can I see him?" I asked. She came over to me and gave me the new-born baby. My eyes widened and I know happiness filled my whole face. Raven hair and crimson eyes. "He looks exactly like Natsume." I said, playing with the baby in my hands by tickling him a bit on the stomach. He laughed. "What are you going to call him?" I looked up at my daughter.

"We want to name him after dad." She said.

I just smiled and looked over to the picture on the table beside me.

_Are you happy, Natsume?_ I thought.

"Are you okay, mom?"

"Yeah. I'm good. It's been three years. I miss him, but he wouldn't want me to be sad."

And this is my story. I fell in love when I was seventeen years old. I got together with Natsume after 8 months of living with him and the other boys. . We dated for five years and he proposed to me. I was so happy that I squealed a yes and hugged him tight. A week after he had proposed, I met everyone in his family; grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and everyone else, too. We had a huge wedding, and I remember it as if it was yesterday. We have a huge family with two girls and four boys. We were only planning on five kids, but the two youngest are twins. I love them all. All our kids are adults now, and they already have kids themselves. Natsume passed away three years ago. I'm already 87 years old. I'm happy. I've spent my life with so many good friends and the love of my life and best friend. What more could I ask for?


End file.
